Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center

The Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center provides a chance for people of all ages to learn more about the lives and customs of the native people of the area. The museum feature life-size walk-through dioramas that enable visitors to feel as if they are a part of history. There are also changing exhibits and live performances. The permanent collection depicts more than 18,000 years of Native and natural history. The museum also features two libraries, one specifically designed for children. There is a variety of research materials onsite concerning the history of native people in North America. The museum and research center are both tribally owned and operated. It opened in 1998 and offers 85,000 square feet worth of indoor exhibit space. The permanent collection includes the dioramas, interactive computer programs, text panels and a series of films. Exhibits in this collection include The Glacial Crevasse, the Manshantucket Pequot Tribal Nation/ A Tribal Portrait, the Arrival of the People, A World of Ice, the Changing Environment, Life in a Cold Climate, the Pequot Village, Prelude to War, the Arrival of the Europeans, the Pequot War and Life on the Reservation. There is also a recreation of a farmstead house from 1780 that features naturalistic figures of a family from that period.